Stranding Network

Stranding Network

As members of the U.S. Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, our aim is to help rescue sick or injured marine mammals and sea turtles that strand along the Monterey County, California, coastline. We also recover dead stranded marine mammals and sea turtles to document the life history of the animals, investigate the final cause of death, collect tissues for analysis, and collect specimens for anatomical and systematic investigations. Such information may be used to learn more about rare or endangered species, to document possible human involvement such as pollution and net entanglement, and to aid in conservation efforts

If you find an injured, stranded, or deceased marine mammal or turtle please contact:

The Marine Mammal Center if you find an injured or live stranded cetacean (whales, dolphins, porpoises), or pinniped (sea lions, fur seals, and seals), and sea turtles found in Santa Cruz or Monterey County